Chapter 86 Life and Death Have Always Been Predestined

The long river, setting sun, faraway mountains, city…

The moment Ye Que stepped inside the golden palace, the first thing he saw was a golden-colored Exquisite Nation Sandbox. After a careful look, he was sure that it wasn’t merely golden-colored. The sandbox that measured nearly 34 meters long and 10 meters wide was made out of gold.

More than ten people gathered around the sandbox.

“As expected of the Imperial Mausoleum of the Glorious Tang Empire! Look at that grandeur! Just how much money would they need to make a sandbox out of gold?”

“That sandbox itself is money. Isn’t gold money?”

“Say, if we take this Exquisite Nation Sandbox out of this place, do you think it’s enough to purchase an entire city?”

Ye Que smirked. He marveled at the structure inwardly but didn’t linger around. Such objects served a cultivator like him no purpose whatsoever. He had nevertheless been a cultivator for more than a hundred years. Mere gold wasn’t enough to interest him.

After a quick glance at the crowd, he quickly found Red Bean nearby.

She was acting on her own, as always. She walked at a regular pace with one hand behind her and another holding her oil-paper umbrella. She kept her eyes focused without sparing her surroundings a look. It was as if she had grown weary of gold.

He quickened his pace and caught up to Red Bean. Once there, he noticed something unusual: the doors were made of gold, silver, and gems. First the Exquisite Nation Sandbox, and now coral carved out of agate. Whatever one could think, one would find it here. Moreover, there were great quantities of them. In fact, there were enough gold ingots nearby that they piled up to form small mountains.

Several disciples were beginning to move these treasures. From the looks of it, they intended to move these worldly treasures out of the ley lines of sovereignty of the Imperial Mausoleum. Ye Que estimated that they were recruited from the private sector by the large sects in the past few years. They were not inexperienced enough to turn a blind eye to worldly riches, especially after such a huge visual attack that the mountain of gold presented.

They lost their determination to obtain Tao in a flash and immersed themselves in the dazzling mountain of gold.

Noticing the sound of footsteps behind her, Red Bean stopped in her tracks and turned around. When she saw that it was Ye Que, her expression remained cold. “Don’t you like gold and silver?”

Taking in her earnest expression, he gave it some thought before replying, “Gold and silver have always been tempting but it’s easier to pick them up than to take them away.”

Glancing at Ye Que’s increasingly nimble legs, Red Bean said hesitantly, “I’m surprised that you can remain so detached.”

He might be detached but that mentality didn’t apply to others. Some of the disciples were poverty-stricken commoners who only agreed to enter the large sects and cultivate so that they could one day become privileged nobles who stood above others. In the first place, their determination to obtain Tao was impure.

It was still fine in the beginning but after being lingering around the mountains of gold for some time, they found it increasingly hard to suppress their desire.

Of course, it was only a minority who were unable to resist the temptation of gold and silver. After all, they were disciples from large sects in the Psychic Realm and above who had a promising future ahead of them. Naturally, they swiftly moved on.

The crowd gradually ventured deeper into the palace. Within minutes, the only ones left were those infatuated with the mountains of gold.

“Argh!”

Suddenly, a shriek came from the direction of the Exquisite Nation Sandbox.

A Truth Cultivation disciple who had been trying to move the entire sandbox found his hands abruptly expanding. His skin, still intact only seconds earlier, became dotted red in an instant. The red dots then spread all over his body at a frightening speed. His skin was also gradually rotting. When the red dots went near his chest, his breathing became so urgent that it sounded like the busy signal of a telephone.

Before he could do anything about it, he dissolved into red mud in between hitched breaths.

The pile of mud was like the fuse of an explosive. Following a sweeping wind, everyone infatuated with the mountains of gold and treasures died. There were no exceptions.

Never mind taking these treasures away, these people couldn’t even step out of the palace.

Pin-drop silence instantly shrouded the hall.

After walking through the hall containing the mountains of gold and exiting a long, narrow passage, the crowd’s vision abruptly widened. A fresh smell assailed their senses as a massive tree that was nearly 30 meters tall appeared in front of everyone.

Nine medicinal stoves were placed around the massive tree, with auspicious Spiritual Qi rising from each stove.

Rows upon rows of wooden racks stood near the stoves. Each wooden rack stored pills and elixirs of all kinds. There were medicinal pills that could temper one’s body, pills that aided psychic communication and rendered shape, as well as pills that could rearrange bones and grow muscles. This place likely had any and all pills that one could think of.

The disciples were mostly fine, but those from the Incense Fragrance Valley of Qingqiu instantly shuddered after taking a whiff.

While the connoisseurs recognized the artistry, the laymen simply enjoyed the show.

Lin Xibei of the Incense Fragrance Valley of Qingqiu made a beeline for the rows of wooden racks.

“Tricolor Goldenrain Tree Pill, Grade 6 Red Sage, and Twin-reed Flying Snow! My God! What am I seeing? There are even Lotus Flowering in Seven Steps Pills here! Aren’t, aren’t these pills long extinct? To think I’d find them here!” An infatuated-looking Lin Xibei continued muttering to himself while gently caressing the porcelain bottles on the wooden racks. He refused to move even a single step away from the racks.

Someone next to him noticed his strange expression and gently called his name. “Senior Brother Lin? Senior Brother Lin?”

“Lotus Flowering in Seven Steps Pills! These really are the Lotus Flowering in Seven Steps Pills! Do you know this? One pill can extend your life by one hundred years!” Lin Xibei yelled with a deranged look on his face, all while tightly gripping a small jade bottle.

“One hundred years of life!”

The cultivators near him were stunned and desire subsequently consumed them. Even though cultivators lived much longer lives than ordinary people, the end of their lifespan would inevitably arrive someday. If they could extend their lifespan by one hundred years at no cost, they might be able to enter a different realm. Who knew if they would be able to enter the Apocalypse realm and become an immortal?

“Nine-Nine Reincarnation Stoves!”

“These nine stoves are Nine-Nine Reincarnation Stoves!”

Lin Xibei had just finished speaking when someone else shouted in surprise. Everyone’s gaze turned toward the vicinity of the massive tree.

Subsequently, surprised voices rang out again and again as people continued to discover strange, miraculous pills.

Red Bean stood under the massive tree and took a look at the crowd. She smirked in disdain. “To be so surprised at items of this quality. Haven’t they seen pills before? One hundred years of life? What’s the point of living for that long?”

Ye Que looked at Red Bean and asked softly, “Don’t you wish for a longer life?”

“I don’t have to wish for it. I’m born with long life,” Red Bean replied confidently, “What about you? Don’t you wish for it? The way I see it, you seem completely unmoved.”

Ye Que shrugged. “Life and death have always been predestined. I don’t care about my lifespan. Besides, my lifespan will be extended after I enter the Apocalypse realm and I will exist alongside heaven itself once I ascend to the Celestial World. Since time immemorial, life-extending elixirs have always been created for the use of emperors. What good will they do for me?”

“That’s reasonable. There is indeed no need for you to worry about your lifespan after entering the Apocalypse realm.”

Even though their conversation was run-of-the-mill and their expressions were relaxed, those who overheard them would look at them in disdain. “These two sure know how to boast. Do you think you will enter the Apocalypse realm just because you say so? In the entire Cultivation World, the number of Immortality Masters in the Apocalypse realm can be counted on one hand!”

“How shameless of you two to say that.”

“Aren’t you embarrassed?”

“How conceited.”

By the time their conversation ended, some disciples were already beginning to consume the pills.

Lin Xibei emptied the bottle of Lotus Flowering in Seven Steps Pills into his mouth.

Ye Que noticed what Lin Xibei had done but did not stop him, despite getting the feeling that something was wrong with these pills. The Divine Book and cultivation techniques inside his body were very sensitive. There ought to be tremendous Spiritual Force in a place with so many potent pills and yet Ye Que detected nothing at all. This place was the same as everywhere else.

“In the dark wasteland, I once saved his life by personally luring the enemies and helping them retreat. I thought that once my energy was depleted, someone would come and save me.”

The reality was that his savior was not anyone from the temporary camp but a white-clothed girl that he did not know at all—Red Bean.

“Public morals are degenerating with each passing day and hearts are no longer as pure in they were in the past. It seems that we can only resign ourselves to fate,” Ye Que murmured. Even so, he subconsciously scanned Lin Xibei’s surroundings as if to check if Nalan Rongruo and Li Jianqi were around.

Those two girls were not the type to be so merciless!

Right then, a pleasantly surprised voice came from the direction of the wooden racks. The speaker was even more joyful and excited than before.

“I did it!”

“I did it!”

“I made it into the Starburst Realm!”

It took no more than several minutes for the disciples who had consumed the pills to see an obvious growth in their cultivation. Some even successfully broke into the next realm!